The Pixies is an alternative rock/punk band who been performing since 1986. Their current tour is promoting their newest album. “Doggerel” released in September 2022 and reached a chart position of 13 in the UK
But first, it’s time for Manchester’s The Slow Readers Club take to the stage. An indie pop/rock band, they have quite a unique sound, a loud punchy drum line you can feel, with a euphoric voice punching through that hangs over the music. Using synth drives sounds to blend it all. Leaves a feel-good factor to every song.”I Saw A Ghost” is their most popular song on streaming platform’s and when it is given a runout tonight it gets everyone’s joining into the chorus, you can hear everyone humming I saw a ghost getting more prompt each time around.
Ending their set on a fast-paced song “lunatic” the bass line to this is so punchy the crowd start clapping away to the beat with no prompt. A band with two top 20 UK chart albums and one top ten it’s surprising how little they are known.
Band:
Aaron Starkie – Lead Singer
Kurtis Starkie – Guitar
James Ryan – Bass
David Whitworth – Drums
Setlist
1 / Modernise
2/ All I Hear
3/ You Opened Up My Heart
4/ Lay Your Troubles on Me
5/ I Saw a Ghost
6/ Forever in Your Debt
7/ Lunatic
As the stage is being set for the Pixies the arena starts filling quickly. For a band that has been touring and performing for as long as they have, they appeal to all ages.
The Pixies walk on stage and there is no delay jumping straight into the set. “Wave Of Mutilation” starts hard and like The Slow Readers Club the bass punches straight through your soul.
Submerging the crowd back into the punk scene. The set continues as it starts. Song after song there’s no rest or let up from the Pixies or the crowd who have been nodding punk style vigorously from the start.
The crowd’s Arms raise, jumping ecstatically to “Grouge Away” from the “Doolittle” album released in 1989. Taking people back to old-school punk days.
The Pixies continue to thrash song after song out and still what is quite apparent is “Black Francis” high-pitch twangs found in older songs are still very much a main fixture in the newer songs, it’s something the band has become known for.
After a few mellow songs, the crowd starts to slow down. But then “Vamos” starts, it has an extremely fast-paced intro, kicking everyone back into life, With an intense high-speed strobe lighting effect complementing the beat, making the song feel so much faster, with a chorus that repeats itself over 5 times, it is amplified by the singing in the crowd. The lead guitar, Joey Santiago twists his guitar around, back to front, twisting and shaking it, forcing it to make some quite bizarre noises.
“Where is my mind” starts up and the stadium erupts with a roar. Being the highest-streamed song the Pixies have had on all streaming platforms its no surprise, it has also been featured in numerous films, the biggest being the end scene of “Fight Club” and features on PlayStation 4 games, it gives you the feeling you know the song but can’t quite place where you have heard it.
Ending their set. Leaving the fans a night to remember. And the longest set I have ever heard, 36 songs in total were punched out.
Band:
Black Francis – Lead and Backing Vocals/Rhythm Guitar/Acoustic guitar
David Lovering – drums/Percussion/Backing Vocals
Joey Santiago – Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals
Paz Lenchantin – Bass/Violin/Backing and Lead Vocals
Setlist
1/ Wave of Mutilation
2/ Human Crime
3/ Monkey Gone to Heaven
4/ Broken Face
5/ Crackity Jones
6/ Isla de Encanta
7/ Head On
8/ Planet of Sound
9/ Vault of Heaven
10/ Who’s More Sorry Now?
11/ Haunted House
12/ Dregs of the Wine
13/ Get Simulated
14/ Gouge Away
15/ Nomatterday
16/ Caribou
17/ Hey
18/ Doggerel
19/ Bone Machine
20/ No. 13 Baby
21/ There’s a Moon On
22/ Thunder and Lightning
23/ Pagan Man
24/ The Lord Has Come Back Today
25/ Death Horizon
26/ Cactus
27/ All the Saints
28/ Ana
29Mr. Grieves
30/ Vamos
31/ Here Comes Your Man
32/ Nimrod’s Son
33/ Motorway to Roswell
34/ Wave of Mutilation (Uk surf)
35/ Where Is My Mind?
36/ Winterlong
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